bakerstreetfandomcom-20200222-history
Talk:Philip Anderson/@comment-121.7.178.243-20140102183010/@comment-24336819-20140105014510
Uh-oh, you guys started me thinking about this whole Anderson situation. That's really dangerous, because once I start thinking, I don't know when to quit! (Oh, wait . . . that's not thinking. It's drinking. '' Okay, never mind.) But here's a strange thought about the way Anderson changed from "Sherlock doubter" to "Sherlock admirer" – and then going bonkers when he realized that Sherlock was just feeding him an exaggerated, semi-accurate version of the fake suicide . . . just to yank good ole' Phil's chain. Remember, this was the guy Sherlock despised even before Anderson supported Sally Donovan's spiteful assumption that Sherlock would eventually become a murderer (in A Study in Pink) and her later accusation that Sherlock had engineered all the crimes he "solved" just to present fake solutions and impress the public. Naturally Sherlock would despise a witless buffoon like Anderson who came up with moronic theories such as the one we see at the beginning of ''The Empty Hearse. And Sherlock would have even less respect for Anderson after the ex-employee of Scotland Yard had gathered a group of dimwits who sat around concocting ridiculous theories – like the plump girl's scenario in which Sherlock and Moriarty snog each other at the end. Yuck. Even Anderson hated that one. Having said all that, please consider what Sherlock was thinking as he sat on that couch in front of Anderson's video camera and calmly presented his fake suicide plan in eloquent detail. How could we possibly believe that the explanation Sherlock gave Anderson was anything but a clever combination of the truth and complete baloney? Our hero was gleefully delivering a bit of well-deserved revenge to the man who contributed to the ruination of Sherlock's reputation. Pay-back, as they say, is a bitch. As for the validity of Sherlock's description, remember what Sherlock said about Moriarty's lies – they were wrapped in truth to make the lies more believable. That's what Sherlock did with his explanation of the fake suicide to Anderson. It contained some elements of the truth, combined with complete lies. Take, for example, the big, blue inflatable air bag. In the brief time allowed, how could such a bulky object be unfolded, inflated, carried to Sherlock's landing point, positioned for him to land on – and then deflated and carried back to the far end of the brick ambulance station to hide it from John? The total elapsed time was 2 minutes and 30 seconds. I timed it with a stop watch. Time the scene yourself if you doubt my word. During this time, John had his heartfelt conversation with Sherlock, after which he watched Sherlock fall. Then John was hit by the cyclist, recovered slowly, and stumble over to Sherlock's blood-covered body in . . . less then a 1 minute. Yes, I timed this, too. So, it took more than twice as long to set unpack the inflatable air bag, pump it full of air, carry it to the sidewalk, use it to catch Sherlock, and then carry it back to the end of the brick building so John wouldn't see it --- --- than it did for John to get from the cab to the point where he first saw Sherlock's "dead" body. Oops. That plan is completely bogus. And just for the record, I still doubt Sherlock's own statement to John that his landing crew on the street below was comprised of his homeless network. Why? That's simple. Because it makes no sense that Sherlock would asked Mycroft to help him and yet expect Mycroft to organize the complex hoax with a scattered group of transients from all over London. I mean, damn, Mycroft is a member of the Diogenes Club! This man doesn't even like to go outside! Mycroft stated this at the very beginning of The Empty Hearse when he tells the captured and beaten Sherlock that he went to a lot of trouble to find him. He refers to the unpleasant experience he had dealing with the abundance of people and noise to find Sherlock. This is not the man Sherlock could depend on to organize the homeless network into a dependable group who could execute the fake suicide plan! If Sherlock called Microft for help, his brilliant brother would have organized his own high-level organization to conduct this important and complex operation. It's absurd to think that Sherlock and Mycroft would entrust this procedure to a bunch of homeless vagrants who couldn't possibly have acquired the needed costumes (hospital uniforms and respectable civilian clothing) – and then seal off the entire area to prevent the public from witnessing the hoax. And I'm sure that homeless people don't have easy access to a large inflatable air bag they could whistle up on such short notice. Right? Of course not. Those of you who might be thinking that Mycroft provided all these needed materials to the homeless network should consider the fact that homeless people are not trained to take orders or to handle the complex task of pretending to be innocent bystanders in a complex covert government operation. In short . . . Sherlock lied to John when he said there were 25 homeless people involved in the hoax. I think Mycroft's trained professions handled it all – and rightly so. Remember, Mycroft was able to fill a 747 Jumbo Jet with dead bodies to deceive a terrorist organization who planned to shoot down the jet liner. The plan was thwarted because of security leaks, but it was still organized by Mycroft. I don't know why Sherlock lied to John about this, but . . . hey, this isn't the first time Mr. Holmes has lied outrageously to Dr. Watson. For example, everything Sherlock told John on the ledge before he jumped and broke John's heart was complete bull hockey. And if Sherlock can keep poor join in agony for two years with that pack of lies, I have no trouble believing that his minor fib about who was really in charge of the suicide hoax isn't much more than a little white lie. As much as I love the character (and Steven Moffat), I'm not buying every horse they try to give me without taking a damn good look at it's teeth. Now that we've established that Sherlock could lie to his most trusted friend for two whole years without the slightest moral qualm, let's get back to Sherlock's reason for calmly feeding Anderson a pack of lies just for the fun of it. The moment Sherlock completed his explanation, Anderson was dissatisfied with it. He said he would have done it differently (as well he should) and he was disappointed (just like I was, because of the blatant errors in the plan). Anderson realized all this quickly and started his emotional meltdown before Sherlock even left the room. So, what would be the emotional effect on Anderson after this monumental insult by Sherlock? Remember that Anderson broke down and wept while he hugged Sherlock and begged his forgiveness for the lame Jack-the-Ripper hoax which Anderson and his group of misfits engineered? I submit that this shocking rejection of Anderson's devotion to Sherlock would convert the obsessed man's fanatic devotion into a bitter hatred. So, what would be the result of this complete turn-a-round in Anderson's attitude? This isn't the first time this has happened. How many times have we seen fictional characters become mortal enemies of their former heroes because they felt rejected, humiliated, or intensely bitter because of some personal tragedy? For example, Arthur Dent became the arch villain of Batman because half of his pretty face was ruined. Oh sure, it was a tough break, but hey – do maimed veterans return from the middle east and become enemies of society? Hell no! On a more whimsical note, that kid in The Incredibles started out yearning to be Mr. Incredible's sidekick, but when he was rejected he became Syndrome, the evil villain of the story! So, I won't be the least bit surprised if Anderson ends up being an alley of the new bad guy, Charles Augustus Magnessen – who is supposed to be really scary. Damn, I thought Moriarty was really scary, right up to the time he went on his bullet diet and never gained any more weight . . . ever! Wow, the next two episodes are going to be really cool, aren't they? I can hardly wait!